Pump maintenance cradle

ABSTRACT

A cradle facilitating maintenance of an in-line pump selectively at the pump site or at a remote maintenance shop.

United States Patent 1 Ray et al. 1 Jan. 2, 1973 [54] PUMP MAINTENANCE CRADLE [56] References Cited [7 5] Inventors: Edward C. Ray, Auburn; William P. UNITED STATES p ATENTS Kahabka, Seneca Falls, both of N Y 3,181,232 5/1965 Challender ..29/401 X I 3,604,098 9/1971 Goldberg ..29/401 [73] Assignee: Goulds Pump Incorpm'ated, Seneca 2,931,551 4/1960 Zalkind ..'...269/303 X Falls, NY. Primary Examiner-Granvil1e Y. Custer, Jr. [22] led: June 1971 Assistant Examiner-Eugene F. Desmond [21] APPL NOJ 158,420 Attorney-John B. Bean et al.

[57] ABSTRACT '5 83 A cradle facilitating maintenance of an in-line pump [58] Fie'ld 305405 selectively at the pump site or at a remote maintenance shop.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PUMP MAINTENANCE CRADLE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towards apparatus for facilitating maintenance of in-line pumps and more particularly to a cradle permitting maintenance to be perfonned on the pump either at the pump site or in a remote maintenance shop.

In-line pumps with which the cradle of the present invention possesses utility, include a pump casing, which has an upwardly opening pump cavity bounded by a mounting ring; and a top pull-out" assembly, which includes a pump impeller, an impeller drive motor and a mounting plate. When the mounting plate is fixed to the mounting ring, as by a plurality of clamping bolts and nuts, the impeller is properly positioned and fluid sealed within the pump cavity.

The cradle of the present invention generally includes a base piece, a hinge piece and a hinge pin for removably connecting the pieces for relative pivotal movement. The base piece is of generally L-shaped cross-sectional configuration comprising a flat supporting portion having a plurality of through openings arranged in a circle; a saddle shaped" flange, which upstands from adjacent one marginal edge of the supportin g portion; and one or more hinge curls, which are carried on a marginal edge of the supporting portion opposite to the flange. The hinge piece is fiat and has generally U-shaped plan view configuration; the hinge piece having one or more hinge curls arranged along its connecting base portion and through openings formed in its leg portions.

When on site maintenance on an in-line pump is to be performed, the mounting plate of the top pull-out assembly is disconnected from the mounting ring of the pump casing and lifted therefrom by a suitable hoist. Thereafter,-the base piece is removably attached to the top surface of the mounting ring and the leg portions of the hinge piece are removably attached to the lower surface of the mounting plate of the top pull-out assembly; both attachments employing the same bolts and nuts used in clamping the pump parts together. The top pull-out assembly is then lowered to position the hinge piece in substantially coplanar relationship with the base piece and the pieces joined together by inserting the hinge pin through their cooperating hinge curls. After the base and hinge pieces are connected, the hinge piece is pivoted upwardly, thereby to lower the top pull-out assembly down onto the saddleshaped flange.

When maintenance is to be performed in a remote maintenance shop, the cradle serves as a support for the assembly both during transit and on a shop maintenance bench.

The present cradle may be provided in several sizes in order to accommodate for any given range of sizes of a commercially available line of in-line pumps. All cradle sizes, however, are designed so as to approximately position the center of gravity of the combined cradle top pull-out assembly over the center line of the pump casing when supported thereon.

DRAWINGS The nature and mode of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cradle of the present invention showing same in disassembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the base and hinge pieces of the cradle may be connected to pump casing and top pull-out" assembly respectively;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the step of connecting the cradle pieces together;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a top pullout assembly resting on the cradle; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken generally along line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference is now made particularly to FIG. 1, wherein the maintenance cradle of the present invention is generally desigmated as 10. Cradle 10 comprises a base piece 12 of generally L-shaped cross-sectional configuration; a hinge piece 14 of generally U-shaped plan view configuration; and a hinge pin 16, which is removably insertable within hinge curls 18 and 20 formed adjacent marginal edge portions 22 and 24 of pieces 12 and 14, respectively.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, base piece 12 is formed with a supporting portion 25 having a plurality of through openings 26, which are arranged in a circle; and a rest device in the form of a flange portion 28, which upstands from the supporting portion adjacent opposing marginal edge 30. Flange 28 is formed with a generally semi-circular cutout 32, such that flange 28 may be characterized as being of saddle-shaped configuration.

Hinge piece 14 is formed with a cutout 34, so as to define its generally U-shaped plan view configuration wherein a pair of leg portions 36 extend from a connecting base portion 37 in directions opposite from curls 20. Leg portions 36 are formed with side opening, generally facing, keyhole shaped openings 38, which are best shown in FIG. 5.

Now referring particularly to FIG. 2, it will be understood that cradle 10, as thus far described, has particular utility in the maintenance of in-line pumps including a pump casing 40 having an upwardly opening pump cavity 41, which is suitably connected in flow communication with adjacent ends of fluid conduits 42 and 44; and a top pull-out" assembly 46, which includes a pump impeller 48 and casing 50 for housing a suitable impeller drive means, not shown. As is conventional with in-line pumps, assembly 46 is formed adjacent its lower end with a mounting-plate 52 and pump casing 40 is formed with a mounting ring 54, which are normally adapted to be clamped in a fluid sealed relationship, as by mounting ring carried threaded bolts 56 freely receivable within mounting plate apertures 58 and nuts 60. As will be apparent, it is not critical to the practice of the present invention whether bolts 56 are permanently carried by the mounting ring or the mounting plate or are removably received within apertures of both.

When desiring to perform maintenance work on top pull-out" assembly 46, it has been common practice to attach a suitable hoist, not shown, to assembly eyes 62; unbolt mounting plate 52 from mounting ring 54; lift assembly 46 upwardly from casing 40'to remove impeller 48 from cavity 41; and position the assembly on a suitable transport device, not shown, for transport to a remote maintenance shop. Removal of the assembly to a remote shop has heretofore been necessitated by the lack of suitable floor room adjacent the pump site and the fact that even if such floor room were available the assembly could not be readily supported in a manner convenient for performing maintenance work thereon.

The cradle of the present invention selectively serves to permit maintenance to be performed on the assembly at the pump site or serves as a convenient support for the assembly both during transport to and while on a work bench at a remote maintenance shop.

Again referring to FIG. 2, it will be understood that the cradle of the present invention is put into use after assembly 46 has been lifted from pump casing 40 by performing the several steps illustrated in FIGS. 2-4. In a first step, which is generally shown in FIG. 2, base piece 12 is temporarily, but firmly attached to the upper generally horizontal surface of supporting ring 54, by passing bolts 56 upwardly through openings 26 and screwing a desired number of nuts 60 onto the exposed upper ends of the bolts; and binge piece 14 is fixed to the lower surface of mounting plate 52 by passing a pair of bolts 64 through leg portion openings 38 and mounting plate apertures 58 and screwing nuts 60 thereonto. As will be apparent, hinge piece cutout 34 is dimensioned to freely accommodate impeller 48 between leg portions 36. If desired, bolts 64 may be those ofttimes employed in inline pump constructions, which pass downwardly through mounting plate apertures 58 and are threadably received within apertures, not shown, provided in mounting ring 54.

After connecting base piece 12 and hinge piece 14in the manner described above, assembly 46 is moved over and lowered by manipulation of the assembly hoist to position hinge curls 18 and 20 in alignment and the base and hinge pieces in a coplanar relationship, as generally indicated in FIG. 3. At this point, hinge pin 16 is inserted through the aligned curls so as to interconnect the base and hinge pieces for relative pivotal movement. Thereafter, the hoist may be manipulated to pivot hinge piece 14 upwardly and thus tilt assembly 46 downwardly towards supporting portion thereby to rest casing 50 within cutout 32 of flange 28. When assembly 46 is thus supported, impeller 48 is tilted slightly upwardly so as to facilitate access to and maintenance thereon. Such tilting may be insured by spacing leg portions opening 38 a greater distance from curls 20 than the distance between cutout 32 and supporting portion 25.

As will be apparent, the initial orientation of base piece 12 relative to ring 54 will be determined by the presence of adjacent building structures, pumps, conduits, etc., which would interfere with free access to impeller 48. However, in the absence of such adjacent structures it is normally preferable to mount base piece 12 in the manner illustrated in the drawings, such that the cradle supports assembly 46 to extend transversely of conduits 42 and 44 such that the latter do not interfere with movement of the maintenance men.

It will also be understood that several different sizes of cradles may be required to accommodate different sizes and weights of a complete line of pumps. However, it has been found that for limited ranges in pump sizes, a single cradle may be designed to position the center of gravity of the combined assembly and cradle approximately over the center line of pump casing 40 and thus prevent or minimize the application of torque stresses to conduits 42 and 44.

While the cradle of the present invention has been specifically described relative to its use in facilitating on cite pump maintenance, it will be understood that the present cradle may be used as a support in transporting assembly 46 to and from a maintenance shop and as a support on a maintenance bench in the shop. When used in this manner, supporting portion 25 would be rested on or bolt attached to a transport device, such as a dolly, before insertion of the hinge pin.

Moreover, it will be understood that while the provision of a removable hinge pin greatly facilitates use of the cradle, the present invention is not to be limited thereto.

We claim:

I. A cradle for facilitating maintenance of an in-line type pump including a pump casing having an upwardly opening pump cavity and a top pull-out assembly removably mounted on said pump casing, said assembly carrying a pump impeller adjacent a lower end thereof to be suspended within said cavity when said assembly is mounted on said pump casing, said cradle comprising in combination:

a base piece, a hinge piece and hinge means for connecting said pieces for relative movement about a pivot axis, said base piece when said cradle is in use being adapted to be releasably secured to a generally horizontally disposed pump cavity surface or placed on another supporting surface thereby to arrange said axis to extend in a substantially horizontal direction, said base piece having rest means arranged to upstand therefrom when said base piece is supported on said surface, and said hinge piece having attaching means for removably attaching said hinge piece to said assembly adjacent said lower end thereof, whereby when said hinge piece is pivoted upwardly relative to said base piece about said axis, said assembly is tilted downwardly towards said base piece into supporting engagement with said rest means.

2. A cradle according to claim 1, wherein said hinge piece is of generally U-shaped plan view configuration having a base portion thereof arranged adjacent said axis and having leg portions thereof relatively spaced to accommodate said pump impeller therebetween when said hinge piece is attached to said assembly, said attaching means including openings through said leg portions for receiving devices for attaching said leg portions to said assembly.

3. A cradle according to claim 2, wherein the distance between said openings and said axis is in excess of the vertical distance between said axis and that portion of said rest means engaged by said assembly when supported thereon.

4. A cradle according to claim 1, wherein said rest means is flange upstanding from adjacent a marginal edge of said base piece, said flange having a generally semi-circular cutout dimensioned to accommodate said assembly therewithin when said assembly is supported on said flange.

5. A cradle according to claim 1, wherein said base piece is formed with a plurality of through openings, said openings being arranged in a circle and disposed between said flange and said axis, said openings being adapted to receive devices for releasably securingsaid base piece to said surface.

6. A cradle for facilitating maintenance of an in-line type pump including a pump casing having an upwardly opening cavity bounded by a mounting ring and a top pull-out assembly removably mounted on said pump casing, said assembly being provided adjacent a lower end thereof with a mounting plate and carrying a downwardly extending pump impeller to be suspended within said cavity when said mounting plate is clampingly secured to said mounting ring by means of threaded bolt devices, said cradle comprising in combination:

a base piece of generally L-shaped cross-sectional configuration, said base piece including a supporting portion carrying hinge curl means adjacent one marginal edge thereof and a flange portion adjacent an opposite marginal edge thereof;

a hinge piece of generally U-shaped plan view configuration, said hinge piece having hinge curl means arranged adjacent a base portion marginal edge thereof and a pair of leg portions, said leg portions extending from said base portion and being spaced apart sufficiently to accommodate said impeller therebetween, said leg portions having openings therethrough adapted to receive one of said bolt devices for removably attaching said leg portions to said mounting plate in a straddling relationship relative to said impeller; and

a hinge pin removably insertable within said hinge curl means of said pieces for connecting said pieces for relative movement about a pivot axis, said supporting portion of said base piece when said cradle is in use being adapted to be disposed on a generally horizontal supporting surface thereby to arrange said axis to extend ina generally horizontal direction and to arrange said flange portion to vertically upstand from said supporting portion, said flange portion being arranged such that when said hinge piece is pivoted vertically upwardly about said axis, said assembly is tilted downwardly towards said supporting portion into supporting engagement with said flange portion.

7. A cradle according to claim 6, wherein said supporting portion is formed with a plurality of through openings and is disposable on said mounting ring, and said openings are dimensioned and arranged to receive others of said bolt devices thereby to permit at tachment of said base piece to said mounting ring.

8. A cradle according to claim 6, wherein said leg portion openings are of keyhole shaped configuration opening through generally facing edges of said portions.

9. A cradle according to claim 6, wherein said flange portion is formed with a generally semi-circular cutout dimensioned to accommodate said assembly therewithin when said assembly is supported by said flange portion as aforesaid, and the distance between said leg portion openings and said hinge piece hinge curl means is in excess of the distance between said flan e ortion cutout and said su ortin ortion.

16. K method of facilitating m iiitenar t e of an inline pump at a pump site, wherein said in-line pump is characterized as including a pump casing having an upwardly opening pump cavity bounded by a mounting ring and a top pull-out assembly removably mounted on said pump casing, said assembly being provided adjacent a lower end thereof with a mounting plate and carrying a downwardly extending pump impeller to be suspended within said "pump cavity when said mounting plate is clampingly secured to said mounting ring by means of threaded bolt devices, said method comprising the steps of:

unbolting said mounted plate from said mounting ring; elevating said assembly to withdraw said impeller from said pump cavity; providing a cradle characterized as including a base piece, a hinge piece and a hinge pin, said base piece having a supporting portion formed with a plurality of openings therethrough and hinge curl means arranged along one marginal edge thereof and having rest means carried by said supporting portion to upstand therefrom in a spaced relationship to said one marginal edge, said hinge piece being of generally U-shaped configuration having hinge curl means arranged adjacent a base marginal edge thereof and having a pair of leg portions having openings therethrough; attaching said base piece to said mounting ring by passing said bolt devices through said supporting portion openings such that said rest means vertically upstands from said supporting portion; arranging said leg portions in a straddling relationship to said impeller and attaching said leg portions to said mounting plate by passing said bolt devices through said openings thereof; lowering and moving said assembly horizontally to position said hinge curl means of said pieces in alignment; inserting said hinge pin into said aligned hinge curl means to hingedly interconnect said pieces; and pivoting said hinge piece vertically upwardly relative to said base piece thereby to tilt said assembly downwardly into supporting engagement with said rest means. 

1. A cradle for facilitating maintenance of an in-line type pump including a pump casing having an upwardly opening pump cavity and a ''''top pull-out'''' assembly removably mounted on said pump casing, said assembly carrying a pump impeller adjacent a lower end thereof to be suspended within said cavity when said assembly is mounted on said pump casing, said cradle comprising in combination: a base piece, a hinge piece and hinge means for connecting said pieces for relative movement about a pivot axis, said base piece when said cradle is in use being adapted to be releasably secured to a generally horizontally disposed pump cavity surface or placed on another supporting surface thereby to arrange said axis to extend in a substantially horizontal direction, said base piece having rest means arranged to upstand therefrom when said base piece is supported on said surface, and said hinge piece having attaching means for removably attaching said hinge piece to said assembly adjacent said lower end thereof, whereby when said hinge piece is pivoted upwardly relative to said base piece about said axis, said assembly is tilted downwardly towards said base piece into supporting engagement with said rest means.
 2. A cradle according to claim 1, wherein said hinge piece is of generally U-shaped plan view configuration having a base portion thereof arranged adjacent said axis and having leg portions thereof relatively spaced to accommodate said pump impeller therebetween when said hinge piece is attached to said assembly, said attaching means including openings through said leg portions for receiving devices for attaching said leg portions to said assembly.
 3. A cradle according to claim 2, wherein the distance between said openings and said axis is in excess of the vertical distance between said axis and that portion of said rest means engaged by said assembly when supported thereon.
 4. A cradle according to claim 1, wherein said rest means is flange upstanding from adjacent a marginal edge of said base piece, said flange having a generally semi-circular cutout dimensioned to accommodate said assembly therewithin when said assembly is supported on said flange.
 5. A cradle according to claim 1, wherein said base piece is formed with a plurality of through openings, said openings being arranged in a circle and disposed between said flange and said axis, said openings being adapted to receive devices for releasably securing said base piece to said surface.
 6. A cradle for facilitating maintenance of an in-line type pump including a pump casing having an upwardly opening cavity bounded by a mounting ring and a ''''top pull-out'''' assembly removably mounted on said pump casing, said assembly being provided adjacent a lower end thereof with a mounting plate and carrying a downwardly extending pump impeller to be suspended within said cavity when said mounting plate is clampingly secured to said mounting ring by means of threaded bolt devices, said cradle comprising in combination: a base piece of generally L-shaped cross-sectional configuration, said base piece including a supporting portion carrying hinge curl means adjacent one marginal edge thereof and a flange portion adjacent an opposite marginal edge thereof; a hinge piece of generally U-shaped plan view configuration, said hinge piece having hinge curl means arranged adjacent a base portion marginal edge thereof and a pair of leg portions, said leg portions extending from said base portion and being spaced apart sufficiently to accommodate said impeller therebetween, said leg portions having openings therethrough adapted to receive one of said bolt devices for removably attaching said leg portions to said mounting plate in a straddling relationship relative to said impeller; and a hinge pin removably insertable within said hinge curl means of said pieces for connecting said pieces for relative movement about a pivot axis, said supporting portion of said base piece when said cradle is in use being adapted to be disposed on a generally horizontal supporting surface thereby to arrange said axis to extend in a generally horizontal direction and to arrange said flange portion to vertically upstand from said supporting portion, said flange portion being arranged such that when said hinge piece is pivoted vertically upwardly about said axis, said assembly is tilted downwardly towards said supporting portion into supporting engagement with said flange portion.
 7. A cradle according to claim 6, wherein said supporting portion is formed with a plUrality of through openings and is disposable on said mounting ring, and said openings are dimensioned and arranged to receive others of said bolt devices thereby to permit attachment of said base piece to said mounting ring.
 8. A cradle according to claim 6, wherein said leg portion openings are of keyhole shaped configuration opening through generally facing edges of said portions.
 9. A cradle according to claim 6, wherein said flange portion is formed with a generally semi-circular cutout dimensioned to accommodate said assembly therewithin when said assembly is supported by said flange portion as aforesaid, and the distance between said leg portion openings and said hinge piece hinge curl means is in excess of the distance between said flange portion cutout and said supporting portion.
 10. A method of facilitating maintenance of an inline pump at a pump site, wherein said in-line pump is characterized as including a pump casing having an upwardly opening pump cavity bounded by a mounting ring and a ''''top pull-out'''' assembly removably mounted on said pump casing, said assembly being provided adjacent a lower end thereof with a mounting plate and carrying a downwardly extending pump impeller to be suspended within said pump cavity when said mounting plate is clampingly secured to said mounting ring by means of threaded bolt devices, said method comprising the steps of: unbolting said mounted plate from said mounting ring; elevating said assembly to withdraw said impeller from said pump cavity; providing a cradle characterized as including a base piece, a hinge piece and a hinge pin, said base piece having a supporting portion formed with a plurality of openings therethrough and hinge curl means arranged along one marginal edge thereof and having rest means carried by said supporting portion to upstand therefrom in a spaced relationship to said one marginal edge, said hinge piece being of generally U-shaped configuration having hinge curl means arranged adjacent a base marginal edge thereof and having a pair of leg portions having openings therethrough; attaching said base piece to said mounting ring by passing said bolt devices through said supporting portion openings such that said rest means vertically upstands from said supporting portion; arranging said leg portions in a straddling relationship to said impeller and attaching said leg portions to said mounting plate by passing said bolt devices through said openings thereof; lowering and moving said assembly horizontally to position said hinge curl means of said pieces in alignment; inserting said hinge pin into said aligned hinge curl means to hingedly interconnect said pieces; and pivoting said hinge piece vertically upwardly relative to said base piece thereby to tilt said assembly downwardly into supporting engagement with said rest means. 